SB 

352. 
,H5 



FRENCH 
METHOD 




m 




..OF.. 

INTENSIVE 
CULTIVATION 

AND 

ASPARAGUS 

FORCING 

..BY.. 

H. HERRMAN 



PRICE, 



$1.00 




Glass SB^^ l. 
Book ^ii5_ 



Copyright )^"_ 



COPVRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



FRENCH METHOD 



OF INTENSIVE CULTI- 
VATION AND ASPARA- 
GUS FORCING : 



• • 



A Treatise on the French Method 
of Gardening 



BY 

H. HERRMAN 



Copyright 1910, by Henry I,. Freking 






©CI.A2r)65J>. 



lo 



K 



L 



S Xr^ ^Ip T^ ^ Of dependable quality, especially selected for 



(hose who plant for profit. 



'^ ««^ g:^'r^ TTr^r^l o ^"^ every other accessory to lighten 



the burden of working the soil. 



Write for Catalogs and 
state if you are a marlcet 
g^ardener. 



Michell's Seed House 



"THE STORE THAT SERVES YOU WELL 



18 MARKET STREET 



PHILAIDELPI-IIA 



EVERYBODY DIGS 




III pi|l I If {i{^ n ifiijjSS 



ASPARAGUS OR WEEDS 

"^ i~\a^r%W=S i t^i^ 115 MAIN STREfT 

jUOUHI-i- <_U., ANTRIM, N.H. 

Make the mast popular Knife yet invented. 
It is DROP FORGED from Cutlery Steel and the de- 
mand is constantly increasing. 
Every man with garden or lawn needs one. 

t All Dealers, or Sent Prepaid for 50 Cents 




SASH 



HOW TO TEST THEM 



First, look carefully over the 
workmanship of the sash. Then 
grasp the sash in your hands this 
way, raise it up and jam it down 
on the corners ; this will show 
you what we mean by joints and 
construction that are "solid as a 
rock." 




Take hold of one end of the sash and get a 
couple of your men at the other — give it this 
twisting test — now you will know what the 
perfect fittina;. double shouldered joint does 
for Sash Thaf Last. 




---- ^-^.^ 

Get your man to hold up one end, then you 
press down on the center where the cross rod 
is ; this will prove to you how strongly this 
rod braces the bars and strengthens the entire 
sash. 



TO PROVE that any sash you think of 
buying are strongly b\iilt and will 
stand the tremendous racking wear 
and tear that a sash gets, try three of our 
tests shovvn. 

Then look carefully at how the sash 
are made— if the ends of the top and 
bottom of the frame come through the 
side rails of the sash — (an "open mor- 
tise joint" it is called) it is made wrong, 
and will let the dampness into the joint, 
and it will-iOt out in no time. 

If there is a strip of wood or band of 
iron across the center, it's made wron^. 
A round piece of iron running from the 
side, through the glazing bars is the only 
way, because it casts least possible shade, 
and not only strengthens the entire sash, 
but permanently ties it together. 

SASH THAT L.\ST is the brand of 
sash we make. Kvery one is made of 
clear cypress — joints all blind mortised 
so no weather can get in to rot them out. 
All steel joints are steel dowel pinned. 
Evetj' sash has round iron center brace. 

They weigh, glazed, only -10 pounds. 

Such sash last fifteen to twenty years. 
We can show you some that are actually 
over twenty years old and we are still in 
mighty good condition. 

We have been making SASH THAT 
lyAST for oxer fifty years, making them 
with both single and 

DOUBLE LIGHTS 



Order one of our unglazed sash and 
give it every test you want to. If it is 
not just as we claim, send it back and we 
will cheerfully return your money. 

On orders from ten or more, we make 
a libeial freight allowance. 

Send at once our illustrated circulBr 
and price. 



Lord & Burham Company 



IRVINGTON, N. Y. 



NEW YORK 
St. James Buildng 



BOSTON 
Tremont Building 



PHILADELPHIA 
Heed Building 



CHICAGO 
The Rookery 



PHILADELPHIA 

ASPARAGUS BUNCHER 



The above cut shows the improvement in 
ur very latest type of Buncher and is in- 
snded to meet the demands of the most 
xacting. 

Neat, trim and even bunches make an 
ttractive and appetizing display. 

They are adjustable to several thick- 
esses and the length of bunch is regulated 
y moving head plate and knife guide which 
re firmly held by screws. 

Two sizes. Write for prices. 

lOHNSON MFG. CO. 

PHILADELPMiA 



ASPARAGUS ROOTS 

My Stock of Asparagus Roots is 
Always Very Large and Extra Fine 




Six Varieties of 
Healthy, Thrifty one 
and Two Year Old 
Roots. 

Special prices on 
large orders. Cul- 
tural directions with 
each shipment. 



Prompt Shipment 
Satisfaction Guaranieed Write Today for Catalog 

ARTHUR J. COLLINS 

BOX 999 MOORESTOWIN, N. J. 



ARE YOU INTERESTED IN HIGH 
BRED CHICKENS? 

DO YOU WANT TO BUY A HEN 
O^ A COCKERAL OR A SETTING 
OF THE VERY BEST OF STRAINS ? 
IF YOU DO, GET THE 

CHESTERFIELD STRAIN 

S. C. RHOADE ISLAND REDS 



The birds with the right shade, in both surface and under- 
color. For an all-around purpose fowl my reds can 
not be beaten. They are great layers in winter 
when eggs are high. As chicks they are 
very vigorous from the start and 
and they mature very early. 

To any one wanting beautiful Reds, combining 
both laying and exhibition qualities, I recom- 
mend my Chesterfield Strain. 

EGGS $2.00 PER SETTING 
One-day-old Chicks 50c Each 

ADDRESS 

HENRY L. FREKING 

VALLEY STATION, - JEFFERSON CO., KY. 



PREFACE. 

Gardeners, both commercial and amateur are beginning to 
realize more and more the necessity of intensive cultivation 
and the intensive system is attracting greater attention all the 
time. 

Believing that a treatise of the French method of cultivation 
would be of material avssistance to all growers of vegetables, I 
have published this book, trusting that it will fulfill its in- 
tentions. 

I feel a&sured that when the truck grower follows the line 
of intensive gardening he will increase his revenue many fold. 

Actual results have proven that incomes from $1,500 to 
$2,000 per acre are not impossible. 

The high prices of food stuffs is due to a lack of crops suffi- 
cient to feed the ever increasing population of our country, 
and I know of no other line of business that presents the same 
profitable returns than vegetable growing insures. It should 
appeal to the better classes who are now struggling in our 
larger cities with life's problems and are receiving in return 
but a bare living. 

The illustrations and some of the suggestions in this publi- 
cation are taken from a book called "The French Garden" , by 
C. D. McKay, F. R. 11. S., of London, England. 

The Publisher. 



CONTENTS. 
Chapter I. 

. New French Method of Asparagus Forcing. 
Chapter IT. 

How to Start a Garden. 

Sowing Seed and Transplanting. 

Cucum.bers and Cantaloupes. 
Chapter III. 

Forcing Rhubarb Without Glass. 

Water Cress and M'ustard. 

Strawiberries and Early Cauliflower. 
Chapter IV. 

What to do in August. 

Carrots, Endive, Winter Spinach. 
Chapter V. 

Wihat to do in September. 

Early Cauliflower; Blanching Endive; Strawberries. 
Chapter VI. 

What to do in OctOiber. 

Winter Cabbage; Lettuce; Early Cold Frames. 
Chapter VII. 

What to do in Novemiber and December. 

Cauliflower and Endive. 
Chapter VIII. 

What to do in January. 

Sowing Radishes and Carrots Before Planting Lettuce. 
Chapter IX. 

What to do in February. 

Early Cucumbers and Cantaloupe; 

Care of Cauliflower Plants; 

Starting Tomatoes. 
Chapter X. 

What to do in March. 

Care of Early Cucumbers and Cantaloupes; 

How to Make a Mint Bed. 
Chapter XI. 

What to do in April and May. 

ftlanaging Cucumber Plants in Frames. 
Chapter XII. 

What to do in June. 

Hoiw to Manage the Cantaloupe; 

How to Manage the Cucumbers; 

Care of Cauliflowers, Now Perfect. 
Chapter XIII. 

What to do in July. 

Sowing Endive Seed; 

Planting Dwarf Kidney-Beans; 

Sowing Carrot Seeds; 

How to ]Make Straw Mats. 
Chapter XTV. 

How to Pack for Market. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE NEW FRENCH METHOD OF FORCING ASPARAGUS IN ONE 

SEASON. 

A French merchant Hving in the capital of France upon re- 
tiring from business, removed to the outskirts of Paris where 
lie devoted his energies to vegetable growing, taking particular 
interest in asparagus. It is his successful method of forcing 
that is given below. 

To secure a succession of asparagus all winter and spring, a 
new hot-bed planted with fresh plants, must be made every 
three or four weeks, from the beginning of October to the end 
of February or March, which will furnish a constant supply of 
asparagus from November till the arrival of the natural crops 
in April or May. It is during this period that it will bring the 
highest price. 

Asparagus to be forced does not demand the use of hot-beds ; 
they can be forced in heated houses or pits. It has been suc- 
cessfully tried this w^ay at the Missouri Station at Columbia 
and at Cornell University. 

There is a market all the time for either green or white as- 
paragus; the first asparagus that comes to Chicago is sold at 
$10.00 per box, containing twelve bunches. 

Hot-beds for forcing asparagus must be made of fresh, hot 
mianure and must be made very substantial. It will take about 
two good-sized wagon loads of the manure to make a bed of 
the proper dimensions. You must select fresh stable manure, 
that which is wet and full of heat, throwing aside as much of 
the bedding or straw as is possible. Select a good dry spot 
facing the south, make it on top of the ground, about four feet 
wide and seven feet long so that it will be six inches wider than 
the frame all around. In beginning to make the bed be sure 
that you mix the manure well and when you lay 
the manure beat it down well with a fork. Let the bed 
be about three feet high so that when it settles, in two 
weeks, it will only be about two and one-half feet high. 



10 



At this time put on frames and sash and keep 
the sash closed until the heat begins to come up, then 
raise the glass, that the steam may pass away. Now fill in the 
frame with rich, light, dry earth or compost, which has been 
made ready at this season under a dry shed, to a depth of six 
or seven inches. Next year joii can use the exhausted manure 
for this purpose. If the bed has settled unequally, take off the 
frame and level it with a rake . 

The bed is now ready for the reception of the plants. Three- 
year-old plants must be used (they can be secured from any 
nurseryman at $4.00 or $5.00 per thousand). No time must 
now be lost in making the most of the hot-bed; take off the 
sash as the heat may be too strong. Raise at one end of the 
frame a ridge of earth about 5 or 6 inches high, against which 
you are to place the first course of plants; place them as close 
to each other as is possible; gather a little earth around the 
roots of the plants just placed and then put on another row of 
plants as close as is possible. Keep this up until the entire 
frame is packed with plants. The tops or crowns of the plants 
must be placed upright and level, and when entire frame is 
full you nnist see that some moist earth is placed all around 
the frame and against the plants, but about two inches higher 
than the tops; now cover the tops of the asparagus about two 
inches deep with rich, light earth. This is all that can now 
be done until the shoots begin to appear through the earth. 

About twelve days after the bed is made and planted, if the 
heat becomes moderate, or if very bad weather, snow or exces- 
sive cold follows, you must cover with sash. If you have a 
large bed, the heat mil continue in it longer, therefore, be 
cautious in putting the frames on too soon, or before the buds 
begin to push up. Protect the tops when required with straw 
mats. When the buds begin to appear, put on three or four 
inches more of earth. This will make in all six inches of 
earth on the roots. Now put on the glass sash. It will be nec- 
essary to occasionally open the sash an inch or two to allow 
the steam to pass away and to admit fresh air. This is espe- 
cially necessary when the buds first begin to appear. 



11 



Carefully test the heat of the bed every day for the lirst 
week or two after it is made. You can do this by pushing three 
or four sticks half the size of a broom handle between the roots 
into the manure in various parts of the bed, leaving them there, 
only taking up twice a day to see if the lower parts of them are 
warm ; so you should judge from this if the bed is too hot. If 
it is too hot, you may lessen it by punching several holes in 
each side of the manure with a large stick. When the heat 
has died down to some extent the holes must be closed. 

If the bed gets too cold, you can renew the heat by placing 
hot manure on the sides of the frames. 

You must allow fresh air to get into the frames every nice 
day, especially if the heat is very strong, also when the buds 
begin to appear through the earth ; this is necessary to give the 
plants color, but always keep them closed on bad, cold days. 

Cover the glass each night with straw mats or boards. 

If you manage the hot beds as above you will have asparagus 
abundantly in four or five weeks and if you keep the heat up 
it will produce buds for three weeks. 

To gather the asparagus from hot-beds you must insert your 
finger gently into the earth and break them off close to the 
roots. If you would cut them with a knife as when planted 
in the ground, it would result in destroying more than you 
would gather, because the buds come up very thick, one under 
the other. In order to have a constant supply of asparagus dur- 
ing the winter and spring, until that in the open ground comes 
up, make a hot-bed every three or four weeks. A fresh quantity 
of roots must also be secured for each new hot-bed. 

The cheapest way and more satisfactoiy way is to buy the 
plants from a nurseryman, but if you should want to raise them 
yourself it can be done as follows: Have three pieces of ground, 
one for the seed bed, which should never stand longer than 
one year before taking up the plants; the second for one year 
transplanted plants; the third for the two year plants. When 
they are three years old they will be ready to be put in the 
hot-bed. 



CHAPTER II. 



INTENSIVE CULTIVATION. 



Under intensive cultivation it is more practical to work only 
an acre or two — one acre really being all that one man can 
take care of; the returns from this should be entirely satisfac- 
tory to the most exacting. 

French growers use, to a large extent in growing lettuce, 
.small ''chassis" and a great number of them ''cloches", or bell 
glasses, but it is just as practical and satisfactory to use cold 
frames or hot-beds. 

It is necessary to have a large supply of manure and to be 
near a water supply that will furnish irrigation. 

The use of high-grade seed is absolutely essential, buy the 
highest priced you can secure and those that are i:)articularly 
adapted to either forcing or summer growing as the occasion 
demands. 

The ground, if possible, should have a southernly aspect, and 
under no circumstances should it be a cold or wet piece of land. 

August is the month to begin preparations for the fall and 
winter forcing. Arrangements should be made to secure sash 
and frames for your hot-beds; this can be bought of any lum- 
ber mill in your locality. I recommend, however, the use of 
sunlight double glass sash as it overcomes the inconvenience 
of covering and uncovering with straw mats as the tempera- 
ture changes. If you are working a one-acre tract we would not 
have over one-eighth of an acre for hot-beds, as this will be quite 
enough to make it pay your time and energy. The manure 
should be collected during the STimmer months and kept wet all 
of the time, so as to thoroughly rot. AVhen ready for hot-beds 
in November and December it can be mixed with hot, fresh 
manure. 

All seed should be sown in October, from the 1st to the 15th, 
but under no circumstances must fresh manure be used in earth 
where seed is sown; it must be rich, warm earth that has been 
prepared in advance. The cabbage and lettuce seed must be 



13 



sprinkled thinly on the soil; they will come up in four or five 
days and should he ready to be thinned out at the end of ten 
days so they will not crowd each other; they should be covered 
each night with the sash and if very cold temperature is ex- 
pected, then the sash must be covered with the boards or straw 
mats (unless you use the sunlight sash) . In January the 
plants will be ready for transplanting and the hot-beds should 
be prepared for the first crops. The lettuce should not all be 
transplanted at once, but should be planted so as to come in 
rotation. The manure ought to be syjread over the ground about 
a foot wider than the frame and beaten down tight to the depth 
of nine inches, the frames placed on the top of this manure; 
now they should be filled to the depth of six inches with the 
very best black soil that has been mixed with one-year-old 
rotted manure, and this well pressed down and raked. You 
should use every inch of space for cultivation and you should 
have at least four crops during the winter. As soon as the beds 
are ready for the lettuce, sow some radishes thinly, at the same 
time sow some very early, small carrots, also very thinly, in 
the same frames. The bed must be high enough within the 
frame so that the plants will not be more than four inches 
from the glass and the plants should not be placed nearer than 
four inches from the side of the frame, so that the shadow of 
the frame does not draw them. These frames are now com- 
plete and you must attend to watering them and all that is 
necessary to develop them. The radishes will grow very 
quickly and will be ready to be pulled in about six weeks after 
they are sown. This will give more room for the development 
of the lettuce, which will grow quickly now and should be ready 
for cutting in eight weeks. 

After the lettuce has been cut, plant out some cauliflower 
that has been siarted in another hot-bed. After these have be- 
come well established, it will be about April 1st and the sash 
can be taken oflp and a little later the frames; the ground can 
now be utilized for melons and cucumbers, the plants of which 
have been gotten ready in a small hot-bed. The carrots and 



14 



radishes wliicli have been gro^Ying• in the frames must be care- 
fully thinned to allow them to develop more quickly. 

Properly attended to, the early caulifiovver are ready for cut- 
ting after seven weeks, sometimes it takes longer. Directions 
for sowing cauliflower and the method of attending them in 
the frame is given in the calendar which is given in the latter 
part of this book. 

CUCUMBERS AND CANTELOUPE. 

While tlic crops heretofore described have been coming on, 
you should have prepared hotter beds than the soft ones re^ 
quired for the lettuce, for raising early cucumbers and cante- 
loupe. After the lettuce have been cut and disposed of and the 
cauliflower well rooted, the canteloupe and cucumbers are ready 
for planting out; one cucumber should be planted under each 
light and four canteloupes. Use one variety of canteloupe and 
only one fruit should be allowed to mature on each plant. You 
must use cucumber seed that are suitable for hot-bed forcing. 
Hardy varieties are, of course, of no value for forcing purposes. 

Cucumbers do remarkably well under these frames, and are 
much better for eating purposes than those grown in an or- 
dinary way. 

These should be sold very profitably, as they are grown at t» 
time when nothing else can be grown under these frames. 

If you are cultivating two acres it is, of course, much more 
than is required to be cultivated under glass. The extra 
ground should be carefully plowed and used for growing outside 
crops, of which a list is given further on, and It is strongly rec- 
ommended that some of the same cauliflowers, planted in the 
frames, should be grown in the open ground, also some early 
cauliflowers. You can sow these about the middle of August, 
but in the frames in early winter. About June 1st they will 
be ready to sell. It is the French growers' idea to grow only 
such vegetables for which there is a big demand. It is a good 
idea to grow such truck as is not largely grown by others in 
the neighborhood. It is very well to grow such salads as will 
be suggested later on. 



CHAPTER III. 



RHUBARB. 



To force rhubard during the Vvdnter months requires that yoa 
dig a pit one or two feet deep, the sides can be built up with 
boards, brick or concrete about two feet above the ground and 
covered over with iron rooting or rubberoid roofing or any 
roofing that ^\'ill ]>:ecp the pit dry and not allow light to reach 
it. Get the required number of good-sized ''stools" of rhubard 
to plant in the pit ; the heat generated in this pTl. will be enough 
to force the rhubard rapidly. But remember that the pit should 
be kept closed tight to keep out the light. Rhubarb can be 
forced in a cave, cellar or outhouse that is dark and fairly warm. 
Rhubard forced in this way will give you those delicate stalks 
that in the early spring demand such a high price. 

The most important thing in rhubarb forcing is the root 
supply. To experiment wdth young or old deljilitated stock or 
clumps would spell failure. These must not be allowed in the 
forcing pit. They can be made strong and gain size and age 
under better cultivation. If they are old and worn out they 
can be replanted and allowed to form new roots. 

Having your roots on hand they will be assis-ted by culti- 
vating and heavy fertilizing. Work the ground thoroughly 
and give them a big supply of good manure. The forcing pit 
uRist be in a place secure from frost and absolutely free from 
light. The last caution is a very important point, as the least 
light injures its color and quality and causes a leaf growth and 
crooked stalks. The floor of the pit can be concrete, brick or 
earth. If a concrete or brick floor it will be best to cover with 
three or four inches of, good soil, set the roots closely together 
on the top of soil and cover the roots with fine soil so that it 
will fill all the spaces with soil. The whole surface may or may 
not be covered and if entirely covered only enough earth 
should be used to level the top, which will make watering more 
convenient. 

If just enough rhubarb is wanted for home use it can be 



16 



forced in a box that is placed in the kitchen or celler or any 
place that will not allow the temperature to get below the freez- 
ing point. But be sure to keep box covered to exclude the light. 

As soon as the stalks have grown so much that they become 
feeble take them out and replace with new roots. 

The old stalks may be replaced in the garden and allowed to 
recover from the forcing by not having any shoots removed 
for a season or two. 

FORCING STRAWBERRIES. 

About one-quarter acre of strawberries will prove very profit- 
able. In the fall, which is the usual time for putting out 
strawberry plants, secure the strongest plants and plant them 
as in the usual way you would out-of-doors, only you plant 
them in cold frames or build up on all sides with a one-foot 
board in back and a ten-inch board in front. About April 1st 
there should then be placed on top of these boards a cold frame 
sash. You will have strong and healthy plants by this time. 
From this time on, April 1st, you must see that they are care- 
fully and plentifully watered. The sash must be removed w^hen 
watering so that you will not be troubled with red spider or 
mildew. Just as soon as the plants are covered vnih glass they 
will start into active growth, and the bloom which is waiting 
for warmth, will begin to open. These strawberries will be 
ready for gathering before the out-door crop can possibly be 
ready. When the berries have all been picked the sash and 
w^ooden boards that have been placed on the sides can be re- 
moved and stored until next season or used for other purposes, 
as shown in this book. 

PREPARING SOIL FOR STRAWBERRIES. 

Before setting strawberry plants it is best to plow your earth, 
crush your clods and mix manure with your soil; it can be 
mixed better and cheaper. Spread the manure over the ground 
where you intend to plant your strawberries during the winter 



17 



months and see that it is distributed evenly over every foot of 
ground. This will protect the earth during the winter and 
will not allow alternate freezing and thawing of the soil; it 
will also maintain a richness and mellowness of the soil. In 
the s].)ring plow under and follow with a disc plow until the 
manure is thoroughly mixed with the soil and all the clods 
broken, and the earth crushed perfectly fine. Then go over 
it with a roller until the earth is quite firm. 

A light dressing of hard wood ashes spread over the earth 
will be a good thing before putting in your plants. 

MUSTARD AND CRESS. 

Suppose your ground is situated in a part of the country' 
where cress and mustard are little grown, it would certainly be 
profitable to put in one or two frames in these crops and they 
can be kept going regularly for cutting every week or two or 
three times a week. In nearly all cities there is a big demand 
for these salads and there is very little of it grown. Both of 
them are very easy to grow. The best method for growing 
them is to utilize the frames which have had the manure ex- 
hausted, and to spread on each a bass mat which has been thor- 
oughly soaked in water, the seed should be very thickly spread 
over it, but no soil of any description shoulH be used. When 
the crops have grown to a proper size, it can be cut with knives 
and tied in small bundles; these will be free from grit, whereas 
when it is sown in earth it is always gritty and dusty. 

EARLY CAULIFLOV^ER, 

Sow cauliflower, securing early seeds, the last part of August ; 
this will be to raise plants to stand over the winter to produce 
an early crop next summer. 

It must not be sown earlier than the 25th of August, or it 
may cause the plants to bloom in the late winter or early spring 
when they are in their infant state. If they bloom the flowers 
will never exceed the size of an ordinary button, and you would 



likely lose your early crop of full-sized flowers at the proper 
season. If you sow your seeds later, the plants will not be 
strong enough to resist the winter's frost. 

It is really best to sow seed twice — once on the 25th and then 
again on the 28th. 

The plants secured are for your earliest crops in the spring; 
they may be planted for good in the cold frames or a better 
way is to plant them in small paper pots and these placed in the 
cold frames to protect them from frost, for final planting out in 
the spring or if you haven't the cold frames and sash to spare, 
the pots can be planted next to a wall facing the south, about 
three inches apart, and allowed to take their chance with the 
cold weather, covered with paper or straw mats in real severe 
weather. But the best way is to place the paper pots in cold 
frames. 

The seed should be sown as told above. To prepare a bed 
for the seed, select the richest ground you have, decide on the 
size bed you want, sow the seed immediately and rake over very 
carefully. If the weather is dry let bed be watered moderately 
from time to time, and shaded in hot weather. This will make 
the beds come up soon ; they will grow" very regiilarly and all 
of the same size. When the plants come up, continue watering 
the bed moderately at least every two days in dry weather. 

During the last week in September the plants should be put 
in the small paper pots and placed in the cold frames, or an- 
other rich spot may be dug up for them that will protect them 
with a south wall. But if in potting these plants, those that 
you may select for finally setting out in the frames in Febru- 
ary or March, should be rather small, it would be advisable to 
keep them covered with the glass sash, so as to force them and 
make them stronger, to be able to stand the cold weather. 

The hardiest plants are to be planted out permanently in 
rows in February or March and these covered with the cold 
frames. Those plants that are intended to be wintered in the 
frames and not planted in pots may be taken out from the 
seed bed at once and put in a bed four feet wide, in earth that 
is light and rich, placed in a sunny situation, one facing south 



19 



preferred, and the plants set three inches apart. The beds must 
be suitable in length for the frames to be placed thereon, and 
they must be protected from cold weather with sash during the 
winter months. 

Water a little when planting. Keep the sash on until the 
plants are well rooted, raise the sash so they will get air on mild 
days. 

On rainy and cold days close the sash, on warm and dry days 
raise the sash to let them have plenty of air. Continue to man- 
age them this way until March or April or until the weather 
is broken and there is no danger of frost. They can then be 
managed as shown in September, October, November and De- 
cember. 



CHAPTER IV. 

WHAT TO DO IN AUGUST. 
CARROTS^ ENDIVE AND WINTER SPINACH. 

A small amount of carrot seed should be sown in August, in 
the open ground, to stand throughout the winter for spring 
use; sow some in the first week of August. Carrots from such 
a sowing can be sold during the next early spring. Seed must 
be sown on Avell-broken and prepared soil. Do not sow it too 
thick and rake it carefully. 

At the same time sow some prickly or winter spinach, for 
early and general spring supply; do not sow these later than 
the second week in August, so that the plants will grow to a 
good size before winter. Do not sow earlier, especially if the 
ground is rich, for it is likely to get rank and may be run to 
seed before winter or early in spring. The ground should be 
well drained so as to be dry in winter. 

When the leaves of the plants are about an inch wide, thin 
them out and get rid of all the weeds in the bed. Thin the 
plants regularly to a distance of about three or four inches of 
each other. In this way they will grow stocky and will produce 
large, heavy leaves. 

Sowing in August will permit you to gather the spinach from 
October clear up to May first. 

Sow a small quantity of endive, selecting such seed as you 
think best from some of the catalogs. When they come up, 
transplant some of the strongest plants.After trimming off the 
extreme ends of the roots and weak, straggling tops of the leaves, 
plant them one foot each way in good soil. Water as soon as 
planted and in dry weather water every two or three days until 
the plants have taken root. 



CHAPTER V. 



WHAT TO DO IN SEPTEMBER. 



EARLY CATTLIFLOWER, BLANCHING ENDIVE, STRAWBERRIES. 

From the first of September to the last, sow cauliflower seed 
in the open ground, in an old hot-bed or a piece of open ground ; 
these will come up in about eight days, about twenty days after 
they come up they will be ready to place in frames, so that 
they may be covered with sash. Take a piece of ground the 
width of your frames, and cover with two inches of rotted ma- 
nure from some exhausted beds. Do not plant too close ; if they 
should happen to be, a little later on, you can again transplant 
some of them. If the season is an open one, you may find it 
necessary to pull them up and transplant them again in the 
same place. This will set them back a little, which is intended. 
Let them have air every day the weather is good, this will 
harden the plants so as to make them more able to stand the 
cold weather. Cabbage lettuce can also be planted between 
these cauliflower. Before cold weather sets in the sides of the 
frames can be banked up with manure and, when necessary, 
cover the tops of the sash with straw mats. 

The cauliflowers will be ready to cut in April. The early 
cauliflower plants, which were sown in August, will be ready 
to be potted in paper pots or planted out in frames, about the 
middle or not later than the 20th of September. 

Plant them in rows about three or four inches apart and 
allow the same distance between the rows. Do not plant them 
too deep, for that will have a tendency to kill them. 

Just after planting, give them a little water to settle the soil 
to their roots, but do not water hurriedly, that you may break 
their leaves or run some of the earth into their hearts. 

Keep the sash on for three or four days until the plants 
have taken root and shade them from the sun. After they 
have rooted the sash must be taken entirely off, and used on 
various occasions during the month, or say three or four weeks. 



22 



If cold nights or heavy rains follow, put on the sash as too 
much rain or water would make them rot. 

To blanch the endive plants white, tie the leaves together. 
Do this in dry weather, choosing plants of good, hardy growth 
and those that are full in the heart. Gather up the leaves 
evenly in your hand, and tie them about the middle of the 
plant with a piece of cloth that has been torn into narrow strips. 
This will make them white, tender and crisp. 

HOAV TO PREPARE SOIL FOR STRAWBERRIES. 

September is the best time to plant strawberries. If the 
weather is moist it may be done any time during the month, 
but if the weather is very dry and hot, do not plant until the 
latter part of the month. Secure the best plants of any variety 
of your own selection. Plant these in rich ground facing the 
full sun, so as to ripen the berries to perfection. The rows 
should be fifteen inches apart and the plants the same distance 
apart. 





A French truck grower's entire garden under glass. 



CHAPTER VI. 

WHAT TO DO IN OCTOBER. 
WINTER CABBAGE, LETTUCE, EARLY COLD FRAMES. 

Winter cabbage lettuce is a small variety, having very small 
hearts. It grows unusually well under sash, but it is of no use 
except for this purpose. Lettuce can be had all through the 
winter by following these instructions: 

During the first of October sow the seed in the cold frames 
and just as soon as the two leaves make their appearance, thin 
them out and transplant in other cold frames. Some time dur- 
ing next month, November, dress around with old manure 
takeii from old exhausted beds. Protect the sash well from 
frost and heavy rains by covering with straw mats; these should 
be taken off during the middle of the day when the weather 
permits, but the sash must remain in order not to let air in on 
the plants. The market gardeners of Paris employ Romaine 
Early French cos for winter culture, in the same manner as 

French cos lettuce is the same as our Grand Rapids lettuce 
and the early French frame the same as our Big Boston. 

The seed of this Cos lettuce is sown during the early part of 
October. Its cultivation is the same as the early cold frame, 
but to avoid mistakes we repeat the plan. During the first 
week prepare a well-sheltered Led that faces the south ; after the 
earth is dug, rake carefully and on the top of this put two 
inches of rich compost. 

Make the bed as level as you can and place the cold frames 
on top of this bed. Now sow the seed thinly in each frame and 
cover Adth half an inch of very fine soil, placing the sash on 
top of the frames. The seeds will come up in about four days 
and about two weeks afterwards the plants should be thinned 
out and transplanted in cold frames placed on beds prepared 
in the same way as for sewing the seed. These plants will take 
root in a few daj^s, and as the cos lettuce likes air, raise the 
sash a little during the day and be sure to see they are shut at 
night. 



24 



When cold weather arrives, cover the sash with straw mats 
and pack the outer sides of the frames with manure. When the 
cold weather has gone, remove the mats and give the plants 
air if the wreath er permits. 

In thinning out and transplanting, the cos lettuce and early 
French frame lettuce can be planted in the same frames. This 
transplanting can be done either in January or February. Each 
frame should contain four early French frame lettuce to one 
cos lettuce. These lettuce should not be planted too close to- 
gether, as the ground between the lettuce plants should be 
sown with early carrot seeds. 

The early French frame or cabbage lettuce will be ready to 
cut before the cos lettuce have room to develop. After the cos 
lettuce has been cut, take off the sash and thin out the carrots 
if too thick. You should continue to tie up the full-grown 
endive plants for blanching as directed in September. 

During the early part of this month you may begin making 
your hot-beds for forcing asparagus, the method of which has 
been shown you in Chapter I. New hot-beds must be made 
every three or four weeks from now on till the end of March. 
This will furnish you a constant supply of green asparagus 
until the arrival of the natural crop in May. 



CHAPTEK VII. 

WHAT TO DO IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER. 
CAULIFLOWER AND ENDIVE, 

On dry days be sure to tie up the full-grown endive plants 
to whiten them. 

Allow the early cauliflower plants, which are in frames for 
the winter, to have air every day, when the weather is mild and 
dry. Take the sash off in the morning and put them back in 
the late evening. When there is much rain, keep the sash on ; 
anH if the weather is mild, with rain, just raise the sash two 
or three inches to allow the fresh air to reach the plants. 

If dead leaves should appear at any time on the plants pull 
them off, and keep the bed well weeded. 

If you have failed to thin out and transplant the cauliflower, 
as told last month, be sure to do it in November. 

Be on the look-out for slugs among your cauliflower plants, 
this is the season they attack tliem. 

During December look over your cauliflower plants very 
carefully, and pick ofT the decayed leaves as they appear. 

Each day the weather is mild and dry, take off the sash, so 
that the plants may have all the air possible; put them back 
at night. 

If there is much rain, keep the sash on. If it is raining and 
the weather is mild, just raise the sash two or three inches on 
one side. 

In severe cold weather, keep the sash on all of the time and 
covered with straw mats and bank the outside of the frames 
with manure. 

If the Vv'eather is dry during December, continue to tie up the 
endive for blanchino-. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

WHAT TO DO IN JANUARY. 
SOWING RADISHES AND CARROTS BEFORE PLANTING LETTUCE. 

You should prepare your beds for the lettuce plants, which 
are to be transplanted for the last time this month. The ma- 
nure which you have collected during the summer and autumn 
can now be mixed half and half with new, fresh manure, this 
will make Jieat enough to push the lettuce along and just 
enotigh to promote the early germination of the radish and 
carrot seed, and force them without making them shanky and 
leafy. 

Spread the manure evenly over the ground to the depth of 
nine inches. When done, set on the frames and lay about three 
inches of good, light garden soil inside the frames ; in this sow 
some of the best early forcing radish very thinly and some 
early carrot seed, sow both seeds evenly through the frame, 
press down into the earth with a spade and cover with light, 
rich soil to the depth of one-half inch. In some of the frames, 
instead of sowing carrots you may sow turnip seed. 

After these seeds are planted, plant the lettuce plants family 
on the bed. Keep the sash on and do not give air. 

The cauliflowers in the sash must have air every mild day. 
Just raise the sash on one side two or three inches facing the 
warmest side. In cold weather keep the sash closed and in 
severe cold weather put straw mats over the sash and back ma- 
imre on the outside around the franjies. In warm weather, al- 
lov»' them to remain open as long as possible. This keeps them 
from drawing up weak or blooming out of season. You must 
be sure to put them down every cold day and night. 

During the latter part of January sow a small lot of early 
French cauliflower in a hot-bed, to follow the winter standing 
plants or to replace any killed by the frost. See instructions 
in Februarv. 



27 



In dry, open weather, let some of the best full-grown endive 
be prepared for blanching. Let the plants be quite dry, and 
tie the leaves of each plant together; they will be blanched for 
use in a fortnight, suitable for salad. 




A hot bed frame containing carrots, cauliflower and lettuce---the 
radishes have already been pulled. 



CHAPTER IX. 



WHAT TO DO IN FEBRUARY. 



EARLY CUCUMBERS AND CANTELOUPE ; CARE OF CAULIFLOWEL 
plants; STARTING TOMATOES. 

During the first month of February sow canteloupe and cu- 
cumber seeds. You must secure tlie best seed of tlie earliest 
varieties. It is best to secure seed that is three or four years 
old if possible, as plants grown from such seed wdlt fruit earlier 
than if you plant new seed which have a tendency to run too 
much to vine ; they often run a considerable length before fruit 
appears. 

Make a small hot-bed of fresh stable manure in which to 
raise plants to the proper size to transplant into larger hot-beds 
during March. A small bed of one or two sash wall be suth- 
cient, and two carts of fresh manure will be enough for a bed 
of two or three sash. Secure fresh, steamy stable manure that 
is moist and full of heat, getting rid of the dry, long straw and 
exhausted' parts before making it into a bed. If the manure is 
very rank, it is best to mix it well together in aheap and let 
it remain this way for about ten days so asto ferment equally. 
This wdll also allow the rank steam and fierce heat to evapo- 
rate. It \^dll then be of the right temperature to make into a 
hot-bed. 

Make this hot-bed in a sheltered, well-drained spot facing the 
south. Make it on top of the ground the proper width to ac- 
commodate the frame. The sides of the bed should be well 
lined on all sides with fresh, hot manure which will prevent 
the bed from cooling. 

When making the bed, allow it to be three inches wider than 
the frame all around. Mix the manure well when putting it 
on the bed and beat it down with the back of your fork ; but 
do not pack it too hard as it will not work as well and will be 
more liable to burn than if it is allowed to settle gradually by 
itself. Let the bed be about three feet high, and it should set- 



29 



tie about eiglit inches in about aweek or two after it is made. 
As soon as it settles put on the frames and sash, keeping the 
sash closed until the heat begins to rise, then raise the sash to 
allow the steam to pass away. About four days after making 
the bed, put three or four inches of rich, light, dry earth or com- 
post which has been made ready under a shed. 

After you have been gardening for a year you can use the 
old, exhausted manure for this purpose. If the bed has settled 
unequally, take off the frames and sash and level it, putting 
on the frames again. Then fill small paper pots with the same 
kind of earth or compost as was used for earthing the bed, place 
them in the frame, put on the sash and allow them to remain 
until the soil in the pots is warm, then sow the seed in the 
pots, both of cucumber and canteloupe, two in each pot and 
lower the pots a little into the soil. 

After this keep the sash closed. Raise one corner of the 
sash one-half an inch whenever necessary to allow the steam 
arising from the heat of the bed to evaporate. This must be 
done to prevent any burning tendency from the great heat in 
the bed in its early stage. 

Cover sash each evening about an hour after sunset wdth straw 
mats and uncover them every morning between eight and nine 
o'clock. Be careful in covering up with mats at night while 
the heat is still strong and steam continues, to raise the end of 
the sash about half an inch to allow the rank steam arising to 
pass away and to admit a moderate degree of fresh air. When 
this is done, be sure to allow the straw mat to bend down a 
little over the end where the sash is raised. This must be done 
especially when the plants are beginning to grow to prevent the 
cold air from rushing into th frame. Great care must be taken 
that the earth in the pots does not have too much heat. Ex- 
amine each day the heat in the bed and if there is any appear- 
ance of burning, raise the pots a little farther from the manure 
without disturbing the seeds or plants. In this way you can 
prevent all injury from too much heat if you examine the bed 
every day. 



30 



The plants will appear in about four days; you must then 
admit fresh air into the frames by raising the end of the sash 
a little each day. 

If the soil in the pots should be dry, moisten very moderately 
with a little water that has had the cold chill taken off. Water 
about noon and only the soil around the roots, and not over 
the tops of the plants. After watering close the sash down for 
about an hour, then open up alittle and close towards evening. 
Continue to cover every night with straw mats. After the heat 
becomes more moderate, close the frames every night and un- 
cover each morning to allow light, sun and air to the plants. 
Whenever possible, admit fresh air in the daytime to strengthen 
the plants. 

Fill some of the paper pots with rich, dry compost and set 
them in the frame till the next day so that the soil will become 
warm, into these are to be potted the seedling plants; raise 
the plants with your finger with all the roots as entire as pos- 
sible, and with as much of the soil as adhers to the fibres. The 
pots filled with soil being ready, make a little concave soil, place 
the plants in the hollowed part, with the roots toward the cen- 
ter and cover the roots and stems an inch with soil. Water 
very little and plunge the pots into the soil in the bed again 
close to one another, filling up the places between the soil and 
letting every part of the bed within the frame be covered with 
as much earth as will prevent the rising of the rank steam 
immediately from the manure, which would destroy the plants. 

In two or three days the plants will have taken root, al- 
though sometimes they take root within twenty-four hours if 
the bed is in good condition. After the plants are well rooted, 
if the earth is dry, give them a little water at the warmest time 
of the day. The best time is when the sun shines. Repeat 
watering occasionally and \ery moderately as the earth in the 
pots becomes dry and seems to need it, always using water that 
has had the chill taken off and always in great moderation. 

Examine the best in the bed very carefully in about two 
weeks and if the bed has lost much of its heat, apply a lining 
of fresh, hot manure on the outside. If the heat has not be- 



31 



come greatly lessened, line only one side, pntting it on the back 
of the bed, and in about a week line the front. This manure 
on the outside should be about twelve or fifteen inches ^nde and 
should be covered with two inches of earth to prevent the rank 
steam of the new manure from coming up and entering into 
the frame, which would prove fatal to the plants. By applying 
this hot manure at the proper time and renewing it when neces- 
sary, you can keep the bed at a proper temperature of heat and 
of sufficient duration to keep the plants growing freely until 
ready for planting out into the other beds. 

When the first two rough leaves appear about two or three 
inches broad and they have commenced to run, they will be 
ready to be transplanted out permanently into the larger beds. 

For the first transplanting proceed as follows: During Feb* 
ruary there are usually some mnter beds which have been used 
for lettuce which now have nothing growing in them. First 
of all, take away the soil from the top of the old bed and break 
up the old manure which is not yet exhausted, mix an equal 
part of new, hot manure with this and remake the beds; when 
made, put the frames on, spread on about five inches of good 
earth, then put on the sash immediately. When the heat has 
fallen to the level of eighty-five degrees Fahr., one inch into 
the soil, transplant the canteloupe into this bed. Cucumbers 
should be transplanted in exactly the same way. 

The early cauliflower plants in the frames should be given 
plenty of air each warm day by taking the sash entirely off. At 
the end of a month, if the weather is warm and settled, trans- 
plant some of the strongest plants to the bed where they are 
to remain permanently. Plant them in rich, well-manured 
ground thirty inches each way. If the weather is cold and un- 
settled, do not plant until next month. 

Tomatoes should be raised in a hot-bed in February and as 
soon as they are ready, replant them out into the frames which 
have held the lettuce and which are partly exhausted. The 
plants should be about two inches apart. When they are fair 
size they should be potted into large paper pots, kept in the 
frames and planted out in the open ground in May, after there 
is no longer any danger of frost. 



CHAPTER X. 

WHAT 10 DO IN MARCH. 

CARE OF EARLY CUCUMBERS AND CANTELOUPES HOW TO MAKE 

A MINT BED. 

Be sure to examine your cucumber and melon hot-beds, mak- 
ing sure that their heat is well maintained, so as to keep the 
plants growing freely. Keep the heat moderate and the plants 
will set well and will show fruit plentifully. 

If the heat lessens, add a new lining of fresh stable manure 
to the back or front of the bed as required, but if the heat is 
steady, line only one side at a time, adding on the other side 
about ten days later; make the lining about a foot wide and 
allow to run up about five inches on the sides of the frames; 
cover the top with earth to the depth of about tw^o inches to keep 
the steam down. 

Allow the beds to have plenty of air whenever you can. Raise 
one end of the sash about one or two inches, depending a great 
deal on the state of the weather. On sunny, warm days allow 
more air than on cold and cloudy days; always close the sash 
in the evening before sundown. Keep the sash closed at all 
times when it is cold. Water the beds whenever needed, but 
only on warm, sunny days and water very little, the best time 
to water is around the noon hour. 

Cover the sash every evening with your straw mats just after 
sundown, and uncover again in the morning about an hour 
after the sun is up or just as soon as the sun shines on the sash 
fully. 

All the early plants, especially the cucumbers, raised last 
month will now have begun to run and show fruit ; as soon as 
they do, train the vines regularly over the surface of the bed 
at equal distances and peg thein down neatly. Be careful at 
this early stage to set or impregnate the fruit blossoms or fe- 
male with the male flowers. 

At the beginning of this month make new hot-beds and sow 



33 



more cucumber and canteloupe seed. About the middle or to- 
ward the latter end of this month sow again in order to have a 
supply of young plants, either to plant into new beds or to 
take the place of such plants that have died. 

If you intend raising asparagus roots for future use in hot- 
beds this is now the time to sow the seed. The seed can be 
sown in the middle of the month in good, rich ground. Sow 
m drills an inch deep and six inches apart. The plants will 
come up in a month to six weeks, when they should be watered 
occasionally in specially dry weather to strengthen and push 
their growth. The bed must be kept carefully weeded during 
the summer months. 

This is the time to make your mint beds, so to have a full 
supply for forcing in the early spring. 

The plants can be propagated either by parting the roots or 
by slipped roots of the young, spring plants being taken up 
with plenty of root, also by cutting during April and May 

But this month the best way is to part the roots. 

Plant in rows about six inches apart and five or six inches 
distant in the rows, also water them well to settle the soil closely 
around the roots. 

To propagate mint by roots get a quantity of old roots, part 
them, then make drills with a hoe six inches apart, place the 
roots in the drills, cover them about an inch deep with the 
earth and then rake the ground. 

The roots can be procured in February or the beginning of 
March or in October and November. The plants will thrive in 
almost any soil or situation. They will quickly take root and 
grow very freely, producing a crop the same year, and these 
roots will produce a crop annually for many years. 

For forcing purposes the roots must be dug up, the ground 
■will be found to be full of them ; spread them very thickly on 
exhausted lettuce beds, and cover with about two inches of 
soil. These plants will grow rapidly and be ready for cutting 
in a short time. 

Dress the strawberry beds this month if you have failed to 
do so up to this time. The sooner you do it the better, but do 



34 



not litter tbeui down as yet. The beds being clear of litter, 
loosen the earth between the plants and then add a little of 
very rich, black earth to the beds, it will strengthen the plants 
and they will flower strongly and produce large fruit. About 
the middle of this month is the best time to put on the sash, 
as recommended. Litter them down when they have nearly 
finished flowering, not before, as the litter gets damp and at- 
tracts the frost if they become too far advanced. The fruit 
will be ready for the last week in May or the first of June, when 
there is a good demand for them. 




The frame of a hot bed before asparagus has been placed for forcing. 



CHAPTER XI. 

WHAT TO DO IN APEIL AND MAY. 
CAULIFLOWERS AND CUCUMBERS, 

The early cauliflower plants in the hot-beds should have the 
earth raked up to their stems in April. This will give them 
a stronger and more vigorous growth. The sash must still be 
kept over these at night and during cold, rainy weather. When 
the days are warm or when there are warm rains the plants 
should be exposed to the air. AVhen they are pretty well ad- 
vanced in growth towards the end of this month or the first of 
next, the sash can be removed altogether. If any of the wintei 
standing cauliflower plants in the frames were not transplanted 
last month, you must do it now as directed. 

The cauliflower plants should now be at their best, so must 
be carefully watched and attended. 

Keep the beds in moderate heat by applying fresh manure 
whenever necessary. This was explained in the two preceding 
chapters. 

The plants should be moderately watered about twice a week. 
Either in the morning or afternoon will be the best time to 
water at this season of the year. The plants will also demand 
having fresh air whenever the weather is mild, if the sash are 
kept on when the sun is warm it will destroy the plants. It is 
well to raise one end of the sash each warm morning about nine 
o'clock being early enough, as the weather becomes warmer raise 
the sash two or three inches more each time. 

The sash must be put down each evening about five or six 
o'clock, and on cold evenings they must be closed an hour 
earlier. 

The plants must be shaded on every hot, sunny day between 
eleven and two o'clock. It will be very well to keep covering 
the sash with mats during this month ; as a rule, cover up to- 
wards sunset and uncover them in the morning. The early cu- 
cumbers should now be in full bearing, but continue to set 



36 



the young fruit notwithstanding, as it blossoms. It is best to 
do this either on the day that the flower expands or on the fol- 
lowing day, but do it in the forenoon. This is absolutely nec- 
essary. Refer to cucumbers in March and April. 



CHAPTER XII. 



WHAT TO DO IN JUNE. 



HOW TO MANAGE THE CANTELOUPE HOW TO MANAGE THE 

CUCUMBERS CARE OF CAULIFLOWER, NOW PERFECT. 

The canteloupe plants that are now in the frames, should 
still be moderately shaded in the middle of the day; that is, 
when the sun shines strongly, and particularly so where the 
plants do not stand the sun well. The mid-day sun is likely to 
exhaust the juices of the vines and' roots, which would greatly 
check the young fruit. 

Spread the mats over the sash when the sun is very strong, 
but do not use heavy ones, that would darken the plants too 
much. They should only be put on in mid-day, say from 
eleven to three. 

Give the plants plenty of fresh air each day by raising the 
sash on one end. Water very little every week or two. Keep 
the soil moderately wet, esp)ecially when the plants are setting 
their fruit. If there is too much humidity it would prevent 
them setting and make them turn yellow. After they are set 
they may be watered more freely. It is never wise to water 
too much, as too much water would prove harmful to the roots 
and the stem of the jDlants and would make them rot and decay. 

Continue to cover the sash each night with the light mats 
till about the middle of the month. 

Strawberries must be well supplied wit hwater in dry weather, 
as the plants ^viW soon be in blossom. 

The watering should be repeated each day in very dry 
weather about the middle of this month. This is absolutely 
essential, but the principal crop of strawberries will now be set- 
ting and beginning to swell and while the berries are taking 
their growth the plant should be encouraged by keeping the 
earth in the beds just a little moist. You will be able to see 
the advantage of this in the increased size of the fruit and in 
the quality of it. Never water, however, unless the sun is very 
strong and the fruit requires it. 



38 



Be sure to take good care of the cucumber plants in the 
frames. The}^ s-hould be kept well supplied with water and 
fresh air. 

These plants in hot weather should be watered every two or 
three days. In the morning, afternoon or towards evening is 
the best time of the day during this month. 

Give the j)lants air each day by raising one end of the sash, 
You should, however, close the sash at night during all of this 
month. 

On warm ,sunshiny days it will be better during the hottest 
time to shade the plants with garden mats or possibly a loose 
straw litter spread over the sash will answer the purpose. 

Keep watching the early cauliflower plants every now and 
then. Pull the larger leaves over the heads, as they appear 
ready to be cut. The plants that are still growing or those that 
are partly flowering should be well watered during very dry 
weather; this will keep the plants growing and will produce 
larger heads. 

Hollow a ditch around each plant to hold good waterings, 
applying it gradually, so it will moisten the earth as far as the 
roots- extend. They will need no more watering and the little 
ditch can again be filled with water. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

WHAT TO DO IN JULY, 

SOWING INDIVE SEED PLANTING DWARF KIDNEY BEANS SOW- 
ING CARROT SEEDS. 

This is the month that endive seed should be sown in order 
that you may raise a supply of plants for use at the end of au- 
tumn for the principal winter crop. 

►Select some good, green curled seed, selected from some seed 
catalog, that vail prove the best variety for your regular sup- 
ply during the winter . Sow this variety twice at different times 
during this month. Sow the first seed between the first and 
tenth, and the second about the twentieth. The seed should bo 
thinly sown, trodden down and evenly raked. 

Water occasionally in dry weather, so as to start the plants 
growing early. They will also come up regularly if watered. 

It would he well to plant a late crop of dwarf kidney beans. 
The seed must be planted the first week in July, again about 
the fifteenth and then on the last of the month. This will al- 
low you to gather them until the first of January. 

They may be planted in almost any kind of ground. Plow 
the ground and plant the beans in rows. 

If the weather should be very hot at this time and the 
ground very dry, it would be well to water the drills before 
planting the seeds or you could soak the seeds for five or six 
hours and then plant the seeds immediately. Do not soak the 
beans, however, unless the ground is very dry, the better plan 
would be to water the drills only. Plant the seeds imme- 
diately and cover with earth to the depth of an inch. 

During the first week of this month it will be well to sow 
carrot seed; this will give carrots in the autumn and winter. 
Choose a light piece of ground, plow, and sow the seeds mod- 
erately heavy and rake evenly. When the plants have come 
up an inch or two, thin them to a distance of six or eight 
inches. 



40 



The cucuin!)ers in your frames will now require care. The 
sash must either be opened wide, or taken off entirely on warm 
days, if the weather is not favorable or there is much rain 
you must still use the sash, but give plenty of hee air above. 
When tiie weather is dry water plentifully and when the sash 
are kept on, raise one end of the sash so as to allow fresh air 
to the plants. 

When plants have just been reset, water only in dry weather 
until they have taken root. Water all beds where seeds have 
just been planted only in dry weather. This is also true where 
small plants are just coming up. At this time of the year and 
in sunny weather it is best to water in the morning or late in 
the evening. The best hours in the morning will be between 
sunrise and nine o'clock, and between the hours of four and 
eight in the evening. AA^atering at this time is very much more 
effective, as the moisture has time to settle gradually into the 
soil before the plants are exposed to the hot rays of the mid- 
day sun. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

HOW TO MAKE A STRAW MAT. 

Most gardeners make their own :^traw mats. They can be 
made in several sizes and thicknesses, but it is best not to make 
them too big or thick, so they will not be too heavy and also 
that they ma}' dr\' out quickly after having been wet. 

As a rule they are made six feet long and three feet wide. 
They can be used both for covering sash to protect them from 
the cold, and also for shading purposes. 

Select a \e\e\ floor or a piece of ground that is level, take 
two one-inch boards seven feet long and six inches deep, lay 
them parallel at a distance of four feet, seven inches from each 
other. The space between these two boards is divided into four 
equal parts by laying five pieces of line or heavy twine one foot, 
one inch apart, beginning the first immediately next to the one 
board. At both ends of each line of twine place a small wooden 
peg the size of your finger. These pegs should be fastened in 
the ground the same distance from each other as the length of 
the planks. Then get a line that -has been tarred and tie one 
end to each peg. You now have five lines of tarred twine about 
six and one-half feet long, it is best to double the twine in 
order to have enough to sew the straw on the cord that is 
stretched on the pegs. It will be necessary to stretch three 
twines the length of the stretc4ied cord that is to make six 
yards before cuting the twine. 

You can wind the loose end of the twine on a small stick or 
bobbin that it may be easier handted. Lay some clean rye 
straw on the tmne that is stretched to the depth of one inch and 
place so that the straw comes out against the planks; be sure 
to make the mats of equal thickness. Begin at the end of the 
twine that is tied to the small stick or bobbin, with the left 
hand take a small bunch of straw about the size of a broom 
stick and raise both it and the cord which is below, then, with 
the right hand, pass the bobbin under the stretched cord and 
bring it back to the left hand. In this way you encircle the 



42 



Ijuneb of .^traw, which you tie tightly. Then take another 
bunch of straw and proceed as before. 

These mats are some trouble to make and can be purchased 
at any seed store if you do not care to undertake the making 
of one. 




A straw mat complete, you can miake these or they can be 
bought ready made. 



CHAPTER XV. 

SUMMER CROPS. 
BEANS. 

Boans do well on a warm, sandy loam, but may be grown 
(,.1 almost any kind of garden soil. Beans are divided m two 
classes, bush and pole beans, and each class subdivided into 
oreen, wax, lima and shell beans. By successive planting a 
continuous supply may be had from early summer until late 
fall. 

Beans should not be planted in quantity until the ground 
is thoroughly warm. Ahhough a few bunch beans can be 
risked as soon as the ground can be worked. 

Pole beans require somewhat richer soil and the labor is 
more troublesome, as it requires much preparation and setting 
of poles. They are, however, much superior to bush beans m 
quality. 

Liiiia beans require a rich soil and should be planted later 
than bush beans. 

Later plantings of bush string beans can follow early crops 
of lettuce, carrots, beets and radishes. 

BEETS. 

Beets give best results in rich, sandy loam. You can sow 
tlie '^eed as early as you can work the ground. Sow m drills 
twelve to eighteen inches apart and later thin to about three 
inches in the row. To secure a young and tender beet suc- 
cessive sowing should be made at integrals of four to five 
weeks. Crops intended for winter use should not be planted 
until July. 

Before the weather is too freezing pull, top them and cover 
with earth in piles in the field or with moist sand in the cellar. 



44 
BRUSSEL SPROUTS. 

Bnissel sprouts are grown the same as cabbage but may be 
grown closer together. When the heads begin to crowd, the 
leaves should be broken off of the stem in order that they may 
have more room. They are very hardy and are improved by 
freezing. You can leave them out all Avinter if given some 
protection or yon can pull them when hard -^nnter freezing 
weather comes; stand them upright in the cellar, place some 
soil about their roots or put them in a pit and cover with 
straw. 

CABBAGE. 

Seed should be sown for early crops of cabbage in cold frames 
or hot-beds about February 1, and transplanted when the plants 
show the third or fourth leaf. They should be hardened off 
and ready to transplant to the open ground about the 15th of 
April. Early crops of cabbage maj' be followed by late beans, 
spinach, beets or carrots. 

For a late crop of cabbage plant seeds in the same manner 
in May or June and transplant to the open ground in July. The 
seeds could be planted in the field and thinned out, but they 
are easier cared for in the l^eds. It also saves the labor of cul- 
tivating which would be necessary if set in the field. The only 
disadvantage in planting in the beds and not in the field is 
their likelihood of dying from the hot weather when being 
transplanted. Cut off about one-half or two-thirds of the leaf 
surface at transplanting. You can leave cabbages in the ground 
until severe freezing weather, then pull them, the heads set in 
a trench with the roots up and covered with about six inches 
of soil and enough mulch to keep cabbages from freezing. 

CELERY. 

Celery of fine quality can be grown in any deep, rich soil. 
Celery seed is very small and is unusually hnrd to germinate. 



45 

Fresh seed must be used each season as old seed loses its vitality. 
The seed bed must be pulverized very fine and the seed should 
be covered very lightly with soil not more than one-eighth of 
an inch. The soil must not be allowed to dry out. The beds 
can be shaded with cheese cloth to prevent this. x\t the same 
time do not water the bed too much as it will rot the seed. It 
is Ijest to transplant celery plants at least once before setting 
them out finally in the field. When about a month old they 
should be transplanted about two inches apart. When you 
transplant them to the field it is best to cut off part of the 
tops. In the final planting you set them about six inches apart 
in rows from three to four feet apart, usually on ground whicli 
has produced a crop of early potatoes, radishes, beets, etc. 

It is necessary to blanch celery. In early or self-blanching 
varieties this is done by placing two boards, one on either side 
of the ro^v close to the plants. Only a few leaves are allowed 
to come above the boards. The boards are held in place by 
cleats nailed across the row at intervals. When the plants are 
fairly good size, draw the stalks closely together with your 
hands and place soil against either side of the plants. An- 
other and final handling is given about two weeks before the 
celery is to be dug. When the plants are banked with soil until 
very few leaves are left uncovered. Be careful not to allow the 
soil to fall down inside the crown of the plants. The celery 
to be used during the winter can be left in the ground and 
covered -with straw to keep from freezing. If intended to keep 
until late winter, however, the celery should be dug and placed 
close together in a trench wMch should be covered with boards 
and the boards covered with soil and mulch to keep from freez- 
ing. It may also be kept in a cool cellar, stand the plants up- 
right in a few inches of soil. Spaces must be left at intervals 
between the rows of plants to afford ventilation. 

SWEET CORN. 

S^^'eet corn can be grown very profitably by any one in reach 
of a good market. Any surplus that cannot be sold can be fed 



46 



to stock. Succession of crops can be had by frequent planting 
or by planting at the same time several varieties which mature 
in different periods of time. For the latest plantings use an 
early variety. Corn as a rule is grown in hills, especially in 
field cuUure. In a small garden it is best to plant in drills 
about three feet apart, thinning to one foot apart in the rows, 
giving level culture. 

EGG PLANT. 

Egg plant is grown very similar to the tomato. These seeds 
are very ditTicult to germinate and should be sown in soil 
directly over the manure of a hot-bed. They must not be 
transplanted to the field until very warm weather. 

KALE. 

Kale belongs to the cabbage family and is used as greens dur- 
ing the fall, winter and spring. It is a very hardy plant. Seeds 
should be sown in September. The plants can be protected 
through the winter with a covering of leaves or straw. The 
flavor is improved by frost, so it is best to leave them in the 
ground and protect them as told above. 

ONIONS. 

Early crops of onions can be secured in several ways. Sets 
of potato onions planted in the fall will give early green onions. 
The best way of producing bunch onions in early spring is to 
plant as early as the ground can be worked with white onion 
sets. These sets are secured by sowing onion seeds very thickly 
during the latter part of the summer. Either white or yellow 
sets may be allowed to remain until they are matured, which 
will be earlier than the crop grown from seeds. The seed for 
the main crop should be sown in drills one foot apart and later 
thinned to about two inches apart in a row. You not get the 
seed bed in too rich or too fine a condition. If you allow the 



47 



onions to grow late into the season maturity may be hastened 
by rolling a barrel over the tops. When these have become 
dry the onions should be raked up into narrow windrows with 
a wooden rake and allowed to dry. The onions should then 
be put into crates or bags and stored in a dry, cool place. 

PARSNIPS. 

These should be planted in deep, loamy soil in order that 
you may secure long, smooth roots. Sow the seed in drills 
about one-half inch deep and thin the plants to about three 
inches in a row. Roots can be dug late in the fall and stored 
in a cellar or in a pit covered with sand or soil to keep them 
from withering, or they may be left in the ground and dug 
in the spring. 

PEAS. 

For the very early crop of smooth peas plant just as soon as 
the ground can be worked in the spring. These smooth peas 
are inferior to the wrinkled kind,, some of which are but a few 
days later in maturing. By making frequent plantings or by 
planting early medium or late varieties at the same time a 
succession of peas can be obtained. In hot summer months 
peas do not do as well as earlier on account of mildew attack- 
ing the vine. You can plant, however, in July and August 
early maturing plants that will allow you to pick in the fall 
months. Dwarf varieties may be grown without support, but 
the tall varieties demand some sort of support furnished the 
vine. 

PEPPERS. 

Peppers are grown in a similar manner to tomatoes. They 
may be grown as a succession crop after early lettuce, radishes, 
etc. They should find a ready market in either the green or 
dry state. 



48 



SPINACH. 



This vegetable is of very simple culture; several crops can 
be raised in a season. It is ready for use from thirty to sixty 
days after plantiiig. It can be sown late in the fall and pro- 
tected through tlie winter with straw\ It can be grown as an 
inter-crop, as soon as the ground can be worked. Plant two 
rows one foot apart between what will later be tw^o rows of 
beans. The beans should be planted as soon as it is warm 
enough without disturbing the spinach, and the spinach will 
be grown and cut before the beans are large enough to be in- 
jured by its presence. 

TURNIPS. 

Turnips may be grown as an early or a late crop. For the 
early crop use seed of the early white milan. Sew as soon as 
the soil can be worked in the spring. Later successive sow- 
ings can be made of white egg seed. For the winter crop use 
white egg or American red top seed sown in July or August. 
Turnips can be left in the ground until freezing weather, when 
they should be pulled, topped and covered with soil in piles in 
the field or stored in a pit or cellar. 



GARDENING POINTS WORTH WHILE. 

On cold nights sash can be covered with old carpet or heavy 
canvas instead of straw mats. 

There are few crops grown in the garden that cannot be fol- 
lowed by later crops. 

A good way to handle manure for garden purposes is to spread 
it in broad, flat piles and allow it to rot, then appl ylOO pounds 
of acid phosphate and 100 manure and mix this well when 
you put it in apile. This will add to the manurial value of the 
pile and will prevent the loss of amonia to a great extent. 

Intensive cultivation demands intercropping, and when this 
is done mtst liberal manuring is necessary for the highest re- 
turns. 

Many growers do not know the value of humus ; they are sat- 
isfied ^^^th their soil. Humus is the life of your land. Add 
vegetable matter to your soil whenever you can. 

Do not plant the same crop on the same land each year; ro- 
tate. Disease and insects will become troublesome if you don't. 

As a general thing gardeners will not plant string beans until 
the season is well advanced. This is a mistake; take a chance. 
Plant a small crop early at the risk of losing by frost. If you 
lose them the los.s is small, and you can plant them again. 
Prices are high for early beans, and you can afford to risk the 
loss. 

Sheep manure is one of the best farm manures. It contains a 
large percentage of nitrogen and a proportion of pho.fjhoric 
acid and potash. 

You can prolong your tomato season by taking up all plants 



50 



and piling them in a heap. The small green tomatoes should 
be pulled off for pickling and the large ones allowed to remain 
for ripening. 

Parsnips and carrots are much better if allowed to remain 
in the ground until the weather freezes. Cover them with ma- 
nure and they can be dug up at any time. 

Success in intensive cultivation can come only through a 
thorough knowledge gained by study and close application to 
the work. You must know how to rotate your crops, that is, 
how to follow one crop with another, what crops to plant for 
early growdng and what to plant for late crops. 

It is always more profitable to grow a crop that your neigh- 
boring truck gardener is short on, also always plant just enough 
of each crop that will allow you to sell as long as the demand 
is good. 

Another thing that goes to make vegetable growing a suc- 
cess is irrigation ; have water at hand where you can irrigate 
when your garden demands it; there isn't anything that makes 
vegetables tough and woody as lack of water. 

Success in intensive cultivation depends a great deal on rais- 
ing the proper kind of vegetables; do not try to sell your cus- 
tomers a poor-looking or a tasteless vegetable. 

Other things that go to make intensive cultivation a success 
are manure, and constructive work in your garden. Confine 
yourself to a small garden spot and work that hard rather than 
work over a large one and give it only half enough attention. 



tmm^ 






DD0DT17D11A 




